Abstract
BackgroundAbnormal extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover is linked to liver fibrosis as it reflects an imbalance between repair and progressive substitution of the liver parenchyma by scar tissue. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are the primary enzymes involved in ECM breakdown. So, this study aims to measure the value of serum matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) in children with chronic liver diseases (CLD) in comparison with liver biopsy and serum biomarkers. A hundred twenty children with chronic liver diseases and sixty healthy children as a control group were included in this study. Both groups were evaluated via medical history, clinical, radiological, laboratory investigations, and serum MMP-1 level was measured by ELISA. Liver biopsy was performed for studied patients only.ResultsThe mean MMP-1 was 15.2 ± 5.1 ng/ml in children with CLD, and 64.7 ± 27.4 ng/ml in the control group. MMP-1 was statistically lower in the children with CLD than controls (p < 0.001). The mean ± SD of aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) scores in all studied cases showed a significant trend of increase with progressive fibrosis stage evident with histological METAVIR scoring system, while serum MMP-1 concentration was decreased significantly with increasing the degree of fibrosis in CLD group (P 0.001). Serum MMP-1 was indirectly correlated with serum biomarkers and the degree of fibrosis in patients.ConclusionsMMP-1 is a useful non-invasive marker for detection of the stage of liver fibrosis in children with chronic liver diseases.
Highlights
Abnormal extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover is linked to liver fibrosis as it reflects an imbalance between repair and progressive substitution of the liver parenchyma by scar tissue
A sequence of pathological and physiological processes linked to liver cell necrosis and degeneration, which result in extracellular matrix and collagen deposition resulting in liver fibrosis [4]
Study design and population This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted on 180 children, who were divided into two groups: children with chronic liver diseases (CLD) group included 120 children diagnosed with a long-term permanent alternation in the hepatic structure that can lead to complications including cirrhosis and premature death [9] based on clinical, laboratory, and histopathological examinations
Summary
Abnormal extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover is linked to liver fibrosis as it reflects an imbalance between repair and progressive substitution of the liver parenchyma by scar tissue. This study aims to measure the value of serum matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) in children with chronic liver diseases (CLD) in comparison with liver biopsy and serum biomarkers. A hundred twenty children with chronic liver diseases and sixty healthy children as a control group were included in this study Both groups were evaluated via medical history, clinical, radiological, laboratory investigations, and serum MMP-1 level was measured by ELISA. Fibrosis is the formation of scar tissue caused by a disruption in the equilibrium between ECM deposition and degradation.
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